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/ 16 October 2007
Sudan’s president met former southern rebels on Tuesday for the first time since they withdrew their ministers from the government, triggering the country’s worst political crisis since a 2005 peace deal. Last week members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement withdrew from a coalition government, saying they wanted progress on key elements of the 2005 agreement.
Sudan’s army bombed Muhajiriya, the main Darfur town held by the only rebel faction to sign a 2006 peace deal with Khartoum, injuring at least two dozen people, the African Union force commander said on Tuesday. Martin Luther Agwai said it was not yet clear why the fighting began on Monday.
A Sudanese army air and ground assault killed at least 45 people in the Darfur town of Muhajiriya, where bodies littered the streets amid burned out buildings, rebels who control the area said on Tuesday. ”Until now the number of dead civilians are at least 40, with 80 missing and a large number of injured,” the Sudan Liberation Army said.